LIVE: Anne Lamott and Elizabeth Gilbert

Last Friday night Anne Lamott and Elizabeth Gilbert spoke at Royce Hall at UCLA.  I had ordered tickets five months ago as soon as I read about the event, and got seats in the front row. (Unlike the Mary Oliver poetry reading where I waited until the last minute and had seats in the last row.) My husband had read Eat, Pray, Love, but didn’t really have a clue to who Anne Lamott was and there she was like five feet away.

Elizabeth Gilbert opened with a graceful and funny talk about Annie –and then Annie read a hilarious essay about skiing. The rest of the program was the two of them in conversation. They had just met twenty minutes before they came on stage and it showed in both sweet and awkward ways. Annie Lamott’s ease and openness with her legendary fears and hangups, her loathing of George W. and most other Republicans, her mix of humor and heart felt detail, her unique and hilarious take on her very serious born-again  faith, plus her timing on stage is riveting. You can't take your eyes off her. One of the best parts of the evening was when she lit into politics with no holds barred.  (My husband now has this tiny – or not so tiny – okay, huge crush on her.)

That said, I realize that ninety percent of the notes I took were quotes from Elizabeth.  (She thinks of herself writing as a plow mule; she’s got a contact and she’s just doing the work.  She has an office away from home now over a laundry and she was watching a guy replace some of the linoleum floor and comparing her writing to just laying down linoleum.) She has sold four million copies of Eat, Pray, Love.  If you haven’t read it, go buy it immediately. And if you haven’t read Bird by Bird or any of Annie Lamott’s collected essays, go to your favorite bookstore or click on Amazon.

Annie’s dreads are shorter now and bleached, she wore ankle high red boots with strange silver studs, and pink polka dotted socks, plain pants and a blouse, and her face gets scrunchier as she grows older.  My husband thought she was more beautiful than Elizabeth Gilbert – who is gorgeous without a lick of make-up, tall and curvy in a purple dress and brown boots. I love it that he prefers the older writer with funny hair, wearing glasses and weird clothes.

Comments

[Lynn]

I am so jealous! Anne is one of my favorite authors. Her words helped me get through a very difficult time, especially "Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past." She is so inspiring and I second the recommendation regarding Bird by Bird... it's a must for any writer's bookshelf--well, forget the bookshelf, keep it close by to read whenever you need a pick me up!

[Barbara]

Lynne - Thanks for your comment. Have you seen the documentary that Frieda Lee Mock made of her about ten years ago? Check out Netflicks for it.

[Elizabeth]

I sat in the third row, center, and can't believe I didn't see you Barbara! It was a fantastic night.

[Barbara]

Elizabeth - I was looking for you. You must have been right behind us, two rows away. Yes, it was fantastic.

[Linda Hunt]

Barbara and Bob, What a great woman,and greater all the time, is Anne Lamott. I am so happy to be in the world with her. I thought Elizabeth was gracfull and funny and often quite wise. But Anne is the apple of my eye. So happy to see you both there.xx LH

[Jo]

living on the east coast with a very tight & limited budget, i couldn't go see liz & anne though i truly wanted to! what an amazing evening to be a part of! how wonderful for you! thanks for mentioning the doc on anne - i'm going to try to get a hold of it!

are they doing this together again anywhere else? maybe it's on you tube or google authors!!!

totally unrelated ~ i just wanted to mention (forgive me if i've done so already!), that my social security disability has finally been approved! we rec'd the judges decision in the mail the day before easter!

thank you for your support during the times i've talked about how it's difficult (nearly impossible!) to write at times through illness! it means the world to me!

i'm not sure this new iv med i'm on is actually doing any good, but, things are going to be less stressful financially for my husband & i and i'm hoping that will help in my health dept too!

[Barbara]

Linda - Yes, yes to all your comments. And so great to see you and K. there.
Jo - You might try YouTube - and check out the documentary I mentioned above. It's wonderful! I'm glad things are easing up for you. I do understand about times when it's impossible to write. Sometimes you just have to read and fill up.

[Victoria]

Yikes. I cannot stand it. Annie Lamott and Elizabeth Gilbert TOGETHER? Is that like the night I saw Neil Gaiman interview Susanna Clark in NYC? That was insane. This must have been fantastic. I love them both. I have a very stressful, time-dependant job, and when I feel like I can't get done what I need to get done, I just take a deep breath and say "bird by bird." But seriously, Lucca Spaghetti. How can you not love it? I love them both.

[Michele]

Any chance this lecture was recorded and/or is available online (You Tube or as a download)???
I've checked both ladies' websites and they are not taking this "back east."
Pity.
Michele-
A fan of both ladies...

[Cindy La Ferle]

What a gift to see Anne Lamott in person -- and kudos to your husband for having such excellent taste in women! I had the privilege of seeing Lamott at a women's event in Detroit, with Oprah and Marianne Williamson on the same ticket. Lamott dropped the notes for her speech all over the floor, then decided to work without them. She stole the show, charmed us all.

[Carol Fabric]

Dear Anne and Elizabeth, Last year when you, Anne, were speaking at the Friends of the San Anselmo Library event I showed up, served cookies and coffee,but never got to meet you.
I was so looking forward to seeing you at the Marin Civic Center last month. I bought two tickets a year in advance...then my nephew decided to get married in Japan..... Is there any way I could purchase an audio CD or DVD of the event? Friends who went, said you two were fabulous.
Thanks so much.
c.fabric@comcast.net
Carol Fabric

[Carol Fabric]

Dear Annie and Elizabeth, Last year when you, Annie, were speaking at the Friends of the San Anselmo Library event I showed up, served cookies and coffee,but never got to meet you.
I was so looking forward to seeing you at the Marin Civic Center last month. I bought two tickets a year in advance...then my nephew decided to get married in Japan..... Is there any way I could purchase an audio CD or DVD of the event? Friends who went, said you two were fabulous.
Thanks so much.
c.fabric@comcast.net
Carol Fabric

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